How to defeat Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

It's no secret that Elden Ring and FromSoftware's games in general, are quite challenging, with the recently released Shadow of the Erdtree DLC being no exception to this rule. The steep difficulty is immediately made apparent to players within the first zone of the DLC itself, where you will find an optional boss, the Blackgaol Knight.

Despite being a humanoid, the Blackgaol Knight is one of the most challenging bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree, perhaps even more so than the Divine Beast Dancing Lion. Thankfully there are ways to fight and defeat the Balckgaol Knight, even before you fight the main story Remembrance bosses.

Here's a comprehensive guide on how to defeat the Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

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How to easily defeat the Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Blackgaol Knight location in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via FromSoftware)

The Blackgaol Knight can be found pretty early in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. In fact, you can technically beeline straight to the boss right after you get the first Site of Grace. The Blackgaol Knight is in the Western Nameless Mausoleum, which you can reach by taking a hard left from the first Site of Grace and navigating through the graveyard.

Unlike other overworld dungeons in the game, the Western Nameless Mausoleum only consists of the boss fight against the Blackgaol Knight and nothing else. It's essentially a small Mausoleum that was perhaps once part of the Belurat Gaol and home to the Black Knights that guarded it.

What makes the Blackgaol Knight a formidable opponent is his ability to basically one-shot you with his Repeating Crossbow or his Greatsword of Solitude. Additionally, due to his armor, the Blackgaol Knight takes very little damage from physical attacks. However, there are ways to get around the boss and defeat him.

Here are a few tips to easily defeat the Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree:

• The Blackgaol Knight always starts the battle with a volley of bolts from his Repeating Crossbow. To avoid this, you can either sprint to the boss as soon as you enter the fog door and attack him, stagger him with a weapon art, or simply dodge roll four times in a row.
• Once you are at medium distance to the boss, he will switch to two-handing his Greatsword, which much like the Ruins Greatsword or the Blasphemous Blade, has an AOE (Area Of Effect) projectile attack.
• The knight can chain the AOE attack with a follow-up lunge which can potentially one-shot you if your Vigor is anything lower than 50. However, since this attack has a pretty long wind-up animation, you can avoid it easily with a well-timed dodge roll.
• I highly recommend using a weapon with a long-range AOE ability, like the Blasphemous Blade to whittle down the boss' health from a distance. Additionally, using the Blasphemous Blade's ability lets you heal any damage that you take from the boss' attacks.
• Another helpful tool for this boss fight is the Opaline Bubbletear, which can save you from getting hit and staggered by the initial volley of arrows if you don't feel confident enough to dodge them.
• Make sure you stick to a medium distance from the boss, and if you see him switch to his Crossbow, immediately interrupt him with a light attack combo or a weapon art. That way you won't have to worry about the Crossbow volley.

The Greatsword of Solitude (Image via FromSoftware)

Lastly, always remember that the Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is an optional boss that you're supposed to defeat later on after collecting a few Scadutree Fragments and becoming stronger. Defeating the Blackgaol Knight rewards you with his armor set as well as his weapon - Greatsword of Solitude.